Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadSpurgeon Verse Expositions - Isaiah 53:1 - 53:12
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Mr. Moody was once asked whether his creed was in print. In his own prompt way, he replied, “Yes, sir; you will find it in the fifty-third of Isaiah.” A condensed Bible is in this chapter. You have the whole gospel here.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Nobody ever does believe either prophets or preachers except through the work of God’s Spirit and grace. The Lord’s arm must be revealed, or else the truth proclaimed by his servants will never be accepted. All the prophets speak in these words of Isaiah, as if they all stood together, and lifted up this wail, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
This is Israel’s King, the long-promised Messiah; yet when he comes to Bethlehem, see what “a tender plant” he is! Look at the house of David, almost extinct; and see what “a root out of a dry ground” is — “The stem of Jesse’s rod.” When Jesus comes before the sons of men, dressed in the garb of a peasant, a poor man, a sorrowful man, a man who had not where to lay his head, notice how men say, by their actions, if not in words, “There is no beauty that we should desire him.”
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
We rightly sing, —
“
Behold a man of woe!
And grief his close companion still Through all his life below!
“We held him as condemn’d of heaven,
An outcast from his God;
While for our sins he groan’d, he bled,
Beneath his Fathers rod.”
Isa_53:4-5. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
What a joyous note there is in that sorrowful line, “With his stripes we are healed”! Glory be to God, we are healed of our soul-sickness, cured of the disease of sin, by this strange surgery, not by stripes upon ourselves, but by stripes upon our Lord!
Isa_53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The general sin of the race, the special sin of the individual, all gathered, heap upon heap, mountain upon mountain, and laid by God on Christ. We sometimes sing, —
“
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all and frees us From the accursed load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus,
To wash my crimson stains White in his blood most precious,
Till not a spot remains;”
Isa_53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He never pleaded for himself. At the earthly judgment-seat, he said not a word for himself, so that even Pilate “marvelled greatly.” Oh, the eloquence of that silence! Truly it was golden. Omnipotence restrained omnipotence. Christ held himself in as with bit and bridle. “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Isa_53:8-9. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Therefore he was allowed to be buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. He was no felon, whose body must be cast out to the kites and jackals; but “He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Wicked men slew our Lord, and their crime was the blackest in the world’s history; but, unconsciously, they were carrying out “ the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” “It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.” Christ died for others, but he lives again; and through him a godly seed shall live for ever and ever: “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” He is made to prosper because he died.
Isa_53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
His death-pangs were birth-pangs: “the travail of his soul.” He sees the multitude that shall be born through his death, and he is content.
Isa_53:11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
Dear hearer, will he justify you? Do you know him? If you know him so as to trust him, he has justified you; you are a justified man tonight. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.”
Isa_53:11. For he shall bear their iniquities.
They kick against this doctrine nowadays. They cannot bear it; yet it is the very marrow of the gospel, Christ bearing sin that was not his own, that we might be covered with a righteousness which is not our own, but comes from him. Paul, by the Spirit, put this great truth thus, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Thanks be unto God for this great sacrifice!
We will read, this evening, the fifty-third chapter of “the Gospel according to Isaiah,” as we may very properly call it.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report?
All the prophets reported that which had been revealed to them concerning Christ, they testified what they knew with regard to Jesus of Nazareth, the suffering Saviour; yet how few, comparatively, of the Jewish people, —how few, indeed, of any people, compared with the great mass of mankind, accepted their testimony, and believed their report? No blessing can come through that report if it be not believed, and this is the sorrow of the Lord’s servants in every age, that so many refuse to believe it. “Who hath believed our report?”
Isa_53:1. And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For God’s power both produces and accompanies faith. No man believes in Christ except as the arm of the Lord is revealed, or made bare, so as to work faith in him. This is the great grief of God’s ministers today, that so often we have to go back to our homes, and cry, “Who hath believed our report?” It is not a doubtful report, it is not an incredible message, it is not a matter of indifference to our hearers; but it is an all-important declaration the accuracy of which is guaranteed by the God of truth, yet who hath believed it? Oh, that the arm of the Lord were made bare in the hearts of multitudes of men! What was the reason of this unbelief in the case of the Jews to whom the prophet spoke, and of those to whom the Messiah afterwards came? It was the lowly estate of Christ that caused them to stumble, and they asked, in contempt, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” They looked for external pomp and martial prowess, so they could not perceive the internal beauty and majestic holiness of the Lord Jesus.
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Christ hath both form and comeliness to the spiritual eye; but, to the carnal, he seems only like ordinary men, except that his visage is more marred than that of other men, and his form than that of any of the sons of men. “He hath no form nor comeliness.” The ungodly look for something that can excite their admiration, or create mirth for them; and they see nothing of this in the Christ of God. But little can we blame them, for, not very long ago, many of us were ourselves just as blind as they now are. Do you not feel, beloved, that you can smite upon your breasts with deepest regret for the length of time in which you were blind to the beauties of your Redeemer? Alas! that the prophet’s words were ever true of us, “When we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
It was not only Christ’s humiliation, but his sorrow, which became a stumbling-block in the way of the unbelieving Jews. How could they, who were looking for an earthly deliverer to come in regal splendor, believe in a weeping Messiah? How could they delight in him from whom men hid their faces, when they were expecting a mighty leader before whom, all would submit themselves? Ah, friends, there was a time when we did not esteem the Lord, when we despised him! We also cared not for the Man of sorrows; though all his sorrows were borne on our account, we passed him by with utter indifference. O wretched heart! Well might I wish to tear thee from my bosom as I think that ever thou shouldst have been callous to thy Lord, the Well-beloved! It was a death indeed which thou didst call life, when thou didst live without thy Lord: “We hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Isa_53:4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
What a discovery this truth seems to be! How it bursts upon the prophet and his hearers and amazes them! “Surely,” they say, “can it be really so that ‘ he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows’?” Yes, it is indeed so; there is no accounting for the sufferings of the perfect Christ except by this explanation, that he was bearing our griefs, and carrying the sorrows that we ought to have carried for our own sin.
Isa_53:4-5. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
If this does not teach the doctrine of a vicarious atonement, what does it teach? If Christ’s sufferings were not endured in our room, and place, and stead, what do these words mean?
Isa_53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
All sinning, but each one sinning in his own particular fashion. It is well to acknowledge the common guilt of all men, but it is the token of true repentance that it dwells mainly on its own special offense. Brethren, we have no occasion to find fault with one another, for “all we like sheep have gone astray.” But we have great reason for each man to find special fault with himself, for “we have turned every one to his own way.”
Isa_53:6. And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
What a mercy it is that every sort of sin — the sin of the mass, and the sin of the particular sinner, — has been laid by Jehovah himself upon his Only-begotten Son! “Jehovah hath made to meet on him the iniquity of us all.” Mark you, not merely “the chastisement” of which the previous verse spoke, but “the iniquity” itself; and albeit there are some who say that this cannot be, and that iniquity cannot be shifted from one person to another, it has been done, and there is an end of it.
Isa_53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:
The sin laid upon him was none of his, and he might have repudiated it; but he did not; and even when the bitter result of sin came to him, and “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.”
Isa_53:7. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
O friends, what infinite patience is here, — patience which endured woes unknown to us, for our Lord’s griefs and agonies were deeper than we shall ever be able to fathom! Yet to the end he bore all without a struggle. I went to see a friend, the other day, who has had a great number of sore afflictions, yet I found her singularly cheerful and content; and when I was speaking with her about the matter, she said, “I have for years enjoyed perfect submission to the divine will, and it was through what I heard you say.” So I asked her, “What did I say?” She replied, “Why, you told us that you had seen a sheep that was in the hands of the shearers, and that, although all the wool was clipped off its back, the shears never cut into its flesh; and you said that the reason was because the sheep was lying perfectly still. You said, ‘Lie still, and the shears will not cut you; but if you kick and struggle, you will not only be shorn, for God has resolved to do that, but you will be wounded into the bargain.’” O beloved, it is a blessed thing to lie still under the shears, so still as not even to bleat! “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” May the perfect example of the Lamb of God teach us a holy submissiveness to the will of God!
Isa_53:8. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?
Are there none to speak up for Christ, none to bear testimony to the purity of his life and the sinlessness of his character?
Isa_53:8. For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Oh, dwell on that great truth! The doctrine of Christ’s substitution for his people is the brightest star in the galaxy of Revelation. No more cheering light ever falls upon a tearful eye than this, “for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”
Isa_53:9. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
He died, and was buried, because he had done no violence. Most men who have perished by judicial sentence have had to die because they have done violence, and because deceit was in their mouth; but here is One who is found guilty of nothing but excess of love, — loving sinners so much that he must give his life sooner than that they should perish.
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Death, in our Lord’s case, was the way to the extension of life. He dies that he may see his seed, as he himself said to his disciples, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” For Christ, the path to prosperity was by way of adversity. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand because it pleased the Father to bruise him. And, oftentimes, it shall be with the servant as it was with the Master; it shall please the Lord to bruise you, and put you to grief, that in after days the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in your hand.
Isa_53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
This is a clear proof that he shall live, and he shall triumph. All his griefs shall come to an end; and even the death-pangs of his soul shall be the travail by which multitudes shall be born unto him, so that his infinite heart shall be satisfied.
Isa_53:11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
By their knowledge of him, by their so knowing him as to trust him, they shall find justification; and “many” shall find it.
Isa_53:11. For he shall bear their iniquities.
We are told that the doctrine of substitution is a theory by which we explain the fact of Christ’s death, but that it is only a theory. It is not so, for it is of the very essence of the fact. It is by no means our explanation, it is God’s own declaration: “He shall bear their iniquities.”
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
That is his Father’s gift.
Isa_53:12. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
That is the result of his own conquest.
Isa_53:12. Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
For ever blessed be his dear name! Amen.
This is one of the chapters that lie at the very heart of the Scriptures. It is the very Holy of holies of Divine Writ. Let us, therefore, put off our shoes from our feet, for the place whereon we stand is especially holy ground. This fifty-third of Isaiah is a Bible in miniature. It is the condensed essence of the gospel. I thought that our beloved friend, Mr. Moody, answered with extreme wisdom a question that was put to him when he came to London some years ago. A number of ministers had come together to meet Mr. Moody, and they began to discuss various points, and to ask what were the evangelist’s views upon certain doctrines. At last, one brother said, “Would Mr. Moody kindly give us his creed? Is it in print?” In a moment the good man replied, “Certainly; my creed is in print, it is the 53rd of Isaiah.” It was a splendid reply. How could a man come closer to the very essentials of the faith than by saying, “My creed is in the 53rd of Isaiah”? I trust that many of you, dear friends can not only say, “This is my creed,” but also, “This is the foundation upon which I have built all my hopes for time and for eternity; this is the source of my sweetest consolation; this is the sun that makes my day, and the star that gilds my night.” In these twelve verses there is everything that we need to teach us the way of salvation; God, the infinitely-wise Teacher, has revealed to us, within this short compass, all that is necessary to bring peace to troubled Spirits. First, the prophets speak:—
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
This is a cause for sorrow upon sorrow, — for the prophets to have God’s message to deliver, and yet for men to reject it, — for them to have to tell it, but to tell it in vain. Yet, dear friends, this has been the lot of some of God’s most faithful servants in all ages, and we must not complain if it should be our lot also. I should not have voluntarily chosen to be Jeremiah, the weeping prophet; yet, methinks, no one of God’s servants deserves greater honour than he does, for he continued bravely to deliver his Master’s message even when none believed him, and all rejected his testimony. Isaiah links himself with all the other prophets who had been rejected, and he says, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:
This is why Christ was not received by those to whom he came, — and why the testimony of the prophets concerning Christ was rejected by those to whom it was delivered, — because he was not revealed to them as a towering palm-tree or widely-spreading cedar: but, like the humble yet fruitful vine, he was “as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.”
Isa_53:2. He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
To carnal eyes, there was no beauty apparent in Christ, — nothing of the aesthetic, as men call it, and nothing of the pompous, nothing outwardly attractive. He came here in the utmost simplicity. Remember the angels’ message to the shepherds: “And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” There was nothing of pomp or show about him: “no form nor comeliness.” He made no display of scholarship, no presence of deep philosophy, nothing that the carnal mind hunts after; but the all-glorious Deity, revealed in human form, spake simple but sublime truth, and therefore men rejected him.
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men;
This was written long before he came to earth: “He is despised and rejected of men,” and, truly, though he is now in heaven, I need not alter the tense of the verb. I do not say, “He was despised,” though that would be true; for, alas! it is still true, “He is despised and rejected of men;” —
Isa_53:3. A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
What a wonderful expression that is! Our blessed Lord had made the acquaintance of grief, he knew it, understood it, was familiar with it, —slept with it, — rose up with it, — walked the livelong day with it; and, hence, my brother or my sister, he knows your grief, and he can meet it; he is such a master Comforter because he was such a mighty Sufferer.
Isa_53:3. And we hid as it were our faces from him;
Shame upon us that we, who have been redeemed by him, — we, whom he has loved from eternity, — we, who now delight in him, — “we hid as it were our faces from him;”—
Isa_53:3. He was despised, and we esteemed him not,
Even we, to whom now he is all our salvation, and all our desire, — we, unto whom he is now most precious, — “we esteemed him not.”
Isa_53:4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, —
Can all of you say this? Can every one of us unite in the reading of this sentence, “Surely, he hath borne our griefs”? If you have truly learned that he bore your griefs, you may indeed bless his name, for it is the best news that ever reached your ears. Go and tell it to your fellow sufferers: “Surely he hath borne our griefs,” —
Isa_53:4. And carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
They thought that God had smitten him, and so he had; but they wrongly supposed that there was something of sin in him that caused God to smite him, whereas he was “holy, harmless, undefiled;” and he was only stricken and smitten because he was bearing the sins of his people.
Isa_53:5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Milton, Shakespeare, Cowper, and the whole of the poets that ever were or are, all put together, could not write four sentences like those in this verse. There is more meaning, more deep philosophy, more music, more to charm and satisfy the human heart, in those four sentences, than in the sweetest of merely human language. Let me read them again; and as I do so, let every one of us take each line to himself: — “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isa_53:6-7. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
These words have been the means of the conversion of multitudes. You recollect, in the Acts of the Apostles, what that rich Ethiopian said to Philip when he read these words: “I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” If we read this chapter over and over again, and so read it as to find Christ there, it will indeed be a blessed thing for us.
Isa_53:8-9. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
All that he suffered was not because he was guilty, but because he was innocent. The only crime which I have ever heard rightly laid to his charge is that which the poet sweetly describes as “found guilty of excess of love.” It was indeed so. He loved us beyond all measure, and because of that love he died for us.
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
The Lord was at the back of it all. Not Pilate, nor Herod, nor Judas, nor Jew, nor Roman, but Jehovah bruised him.
Isa_53:10. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Here the strain changes altogether. From the depths of woe, we begin to rise with hopes of a glad result of all the suffering and sorrow and shame. Glory be to the name of Christ, he has a mighty right hand, into which God has placed that work which is according to his own good pleasure, — even the work of saving guilty men, and that work, in his prolonged days, until the end of time, shall prosper in the hand of the Christ of God.
Isa_53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
Christ did not die at haphazard, as some seem to think. A sure and glorious result must come of “the travail of his soul.” Such precious blood as his could not fall to the ground at a peradventure. Whatever the design of his gross was, it shall be accomplished. I could imagine failures in creation, if so it pleased God; but never in redemption.
Isa_53:11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
That is the top and bottom of it all: “He shall bear their iniquities,” The red line of substitution runs through the whole chapter.
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
It is sometimes the lot of God’s most faithful servants to labour unsuccessfully. As old Thomas Fuller quaintly says, “He maketh some to be as the clouds that empty their rain over Arabia the stony while others are pouring down their showers over Arabia the happy.” Yet we are accepted with God, not according to our success, but according to our faithfulness. Still, no true minister of Christ can be contented unless men believe his report. It will be a matter for sighing and groaning if unbelief be the only answer to our earnest declarations concerning Christ.
Isa_53:2. For he —
That is, Jesus —
Isa_53:2. Shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Carnal minds are unbelieving minds. They are so because the beauties of Christ are spiritual, and in their natural state they have not the power to discern them. Jesus Christ has no loveliness in the eyes of self-righteous, self-sufficient men. What do they want with a Saviour? What do they care for his atoning sacrifice? They cannot truly admire the love and the holiness of Jesus Christ, for they do not know their own unloveliness or their own unholiness. Alas! that God’s own Son, who is the loveliest of all beings, should be without form or comeliness to unspiritual eyes.
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
While the Redeemer was here below, his state of poverty, obscurity, suffering, and shame, was of such a character that few would believe in him, and even those, who afterwards received him, at the first did not so. He was despised; and we, even we, his own people, esteemed him not. Christ has forgiven us for all this, but shall we ever forgive ourselves? O eyes, shall ye ever cease to weep over your former blindness? O heart, shalt thou ever cease to grieve over thy former hardness? He, who was heaven’s darling, was despised and rejected of men, and we partook in the guilt, for we also despised and rejected him.
Isa_53:4-5. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chatisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes, we are healed.
It is substitution, you see, all through, — Christ suffering instead of us, —the Innocent dying for the guilty, — the Lord of glory bearing the sin of rebellious men. Why do men cavil at this precious truth? It is their only hope of salvation. Why do we still have to say, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” But those who are enlightened from above, and led to see their own state of ruin, and their absolute need of a Saviour, will rejoice to know that the Lord hath laid help upon One who is mighty, and that he hath anointed his only-begotten Son to stand in our room, and place, and stead.
Isa_53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
There is a universal sin: “All we like sheep have gone astray.” There is also a personal sin, a sin peculiar to each individual: “We have turned every one to his own way.” But Christ gathers up the sin, all kinds of sin of all sorts of men, and of his whole Church it is truly said, “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isa_53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not mouth:
When a word could have released him, he would not speak it. His was indeed golden silence. Oh, the wondrous eloquence of that patient speechlessness when he stood before Herod and Pilate, and answered them not a word! He could have spoken with such authority as to have called legions of angels from heaven for his protection, or a single word of his could have destroyed his enemies, as the leaves of autumn lie withered and dead; but “he opened not his mouth.”
Isa_53:7-8. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?
Who shall speak up for him? It was the custom of the Jews, when a man was condemned to death, to allow a certain interval, during which the heralds went through the streets, and made proclamation that, if any man knew any reason why the criminal should be spared, he should at once appear at the court, and declare it. Someone often came forward, with one plea or another, in arrest of judgment; but when our Lord was condemned to death, none would speak up for him.
Isa_53:8-9. For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked,” —
Dying between two thieves, as though he had been the greatest criminal of the three: “He made his grave with the wicked,”
Isa_53:9. And with the rich in his death;
Lying in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea.
Isa_53:9. Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
If he had used either violence or deceit, he might have escaped; but because he was harmless and true, therefore must he die.
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
The grain of wheat, sown in the ground, abides not alone, but brings forth much fruit. Our blessed Saviour presented both soul and body as an offering for sin, but he knew what he was doing, for “he shall see his seed,” —
Isa_53:10. He shall prolong his days, —
Up from the grave did he arise in newness of life, and back to heaven did he return to life immortal: “He shall prolong his days,”
Isa_53:10-11. And the pleasure of the LORD shall proper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
Christ did not die in vain. He will never miss the great object of his death, you may depend upon that. Those drops of blood are far too precious to fall in vain upon the earth.
Isa_53:11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
That is, by their knowledge of him, by their trusting him, many shall be justified, and saved.
Isa_53:11. For he shall bear their iniquities.
How very express this is, — that Christ does not merely bear the punishment of his people, but their iniquities, too! There is a literal substitution of Christ in the place of his people, and a most distinct imputation of their sin to him, and of his righteousness to them.
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Blessed Intercessor, let thine almighty intercession avail for each one of us, for thine own name’s sake! Amen.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
The prophet seems to speak in the name of all the prophets, lamenting the general unbelief concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The report concerning him is very clear. It comes from God: it is for our salvation. And yet how many disbelieve it! In fact, all do. Until the arm of the Lord is revealed, until he works upon the hearts of men, and they are led to believe in Jesus. And here is the difficulty of belief.
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
There was nothing about Jesus Christ to attract the attention of those who look for pomp and splendor. His religion is all simplicity; it is plain truth; there is nothing about it that is gorgeous to attract those who look after ritualistic vanities. To the most of men there is no beauty in him that they should desire him.
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
It was so with Jesus when he was here. He was the greatest of all sufferers: there were few that followed him; some of those who did betrayed him. There were few who would stand up for him he met everywhere with a repulse, and yet he came on an errand of love. He needed not to have come at all. Heaven surely was large enough for him; but such was his pity for the dying sons of men that he must needs strip off his royal robes and put on the robes of our mortal flesh.
Isa_53:4-5. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for out transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
He had not a pang to suffer on his own account, nothing to cause him grief in anything he had done: —
“
Was love or was sorrow like this ever known?”
Isa_53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Taken the full load of sin, the whole mass of human guilt, and placed it upon him. He was perfectly innocent, and yet was the sin of man heaped upon him. He was our substitute, standing in our stead: a wondrous truth was this!
Isa_53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
And you know right well that our Master would not speak when he was charged before Pilate and Herod: he was eloquent — more eloquent in his silence than if he had used his ordinary language, which was wonderful, for “never man spake like this man,” and yet never man was silent as he for our sake.
Isa_53:8-10. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Our blessed Lord and Master is to have a full reward for all his griefs, and an earnest of that reward is here tonight. He will receive this very night some born unto him by the new birth, who shall henceforth be his children, and who shall gladly say, “Here, Lord, I come myself to thee, for thou hast bought me by thy precious blood.” It is the joy of some of us that we belong altogether to Christ. We would not have another honour: we wish to live to him, loving him and serving him, as long as we have any being. And there are some here tonight who have not felt this, whom God, nevertheless, will make to feel it, for so runs the promise: —
Isa_53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
That is the way he justifies them — takes their iniquities upon himself; and since a thing cannot be in two places at one time, when Christ takes our iniquities, they are gone, and we are just in the sight of God. He takes the burden, and we are unloaded, blessed be his name! “He shall bear their iniquities.”
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong:
The dying Christ has risen again, and he is a great conqueror now, and divided the spoil. Those spoils are human hearts, and the true love and deep devotion of those he has redeemed. He shall have this: —
Isa_53:12. Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors: and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors,
And he is doing it now; pleading this very night that old prayer of his, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Oh! let you and I be pardoned with that plea.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed!
It is no new thing for gospel ministers to be disappointed. Even Isaiah; the most Evangelical of all the prophets, who might well be placed at the head of the College of Preachers, feels compelled to say, in the name of all that sacred brotherhood, “Who hath believed our report?” The report was a very plain one, a very earnest one, and very full of noble matter. Men ought to have believed it, but they did not, and they never will unless God’s arm is revealed, for faith is the product of Omnipotence, and men never believe in Christ till God stretches out his arm. Where was the difficulty of believing the report about Christ? Isaiah tells us about him, and as we listen, we understand why so many believe not on him.
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him —
That is, the Messiah shall grow up before God —
Isa_53:2. As a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
When Christ came, he was very lovely to those who could judge of spiritual beauty. In form and comeliness, he was unrivalled, but not to carnal men; they said, “Where is his royal splendor? Where is the majesty of his kingdom?” As they looked upon the carpenter’s Son, they said, “Where are his riches?” They heard him say that he had not where to lay his head, and they despised such a Messiah. As he spoke in simple parables to the people, they asked, “Where is his wisdom?” So, to carnal eyes, the Saviour had “no form nor comeliness.”
Isa_53:3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Oh, how sad it is that the Son of the Most High God, when he condescended to wear our nature, received such base treatment as this from the hands of men! How equally sad is it that his glorious and ever-blessed gospel should still be the object of contempt to multitudes of men! They will not have it; they will have their own philosophy, — their own falsehoods, rather let us say, — but Christ they despise, and they esteem not his gospel.
Isa_53:4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows :--
Listen, ye sad ones, ye sorrowful ones! Let this sweet note charm you into joy: “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.”
Isa_53:4. Yet we —
We, for whom he was the Substitute, for whom he smarted: “Yet we” —
Isa_53:4-5. Did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Wonderful medicine! Marvelous healing! Where shall we find the like? The Physician drinks the bitter draught, and so cures the patient; whoever heard of such a wonder as this? The Physician is put to death, and that great sacrifice heals the patient; whoever heard of such a thing as this before? The whole gospel in a nutshell lies in this verse: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Now comes another wonderful verse, such as Luther was accustomed to call “a little Bible.” It begins with “all” and it ends with “all”
Isa_53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
There is your only hope of eternal life, sinner. You are among the “all” who went astray; if you are a believer in Christ, you will be found among the “all” whose iniquities were laid upon him, and carried away by him.
Isa_53:7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Oh, the majesty of his silence! Never was eloquence equal to this: “He opened not his mouth.”
Isa_53:8. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
They ought to have been stricken; their transgressions deserved the heavy blows of the rod of God’s wrath; yet, “for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”
Isa_53:9. And he made his grave with the wicked, —
He was crucified between two malefactors.
Isa_53:9. And with the rich in his death; —
He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
Isa_53:9. Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
For that very reason he was qualified to bear our sin; because he had no sin of his own, therefore he could bear ours, and he did bear ours, and died, “the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.”
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Do not be afraid, then, about the kingdom of Christ. Its interests are safe enough, for they are in his hands, and God has given the promise that his pleasure shall prosper there.
Isa_53:11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
His death-pangs were our birth-pangs; and Christ shall see that which is born of his soul-anguish, and “shall be satisfied.”
Isa_53:11. By his knowledge —
Or, “by the knowledge of him,” —
Isa_53:11. Shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
There is no meaning at all in this chapter if it does not teach that Christ did take upon himself the sin of his people, and did suffer in their room and place and stead. Let who will object to this doctrine, it is the gospel, the very heart and marrow of it; and there is nothing that can make a heavy heart glad until it sees sin removed by the death of Christ: “He shall bear their iniquities.”
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
He not only died, but he poured out his very soul unto death.
Isa_53:12. And he was numbered with the transgressors.: and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession .for the transgressors.
We shall do well also to read part of the 55th chapter of Isaiah after this 53rd; the one is an admirable preparation for the other
This exposition consisted of readings from Isaiah 53; and Isa_55:1-7.
Isa_53:1-9. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Those wicked men were his enemies because he did “the thing that good is.” They that rewarded him evil for good were his adversaries, even as they are ours.
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;
We might say the same of that tried child of God whose utterances we read just now: “It pleased the Lord to bruise him.”
Isa_53:10-11. He hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
What gracious gospel words these are, even though they were recorded under the old dispensation! Oh, how you who are full of iniquity, ought to catch at these inspired declarations, which so clearly set forth the substitutionary work of Christ on behalf of the guilty! If you realize your need of such a Saviour as he is, how these words ought to gladden your heart!
Isa_53:12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 38, and Isaiah 53.
Blessed passage; I hope you all know it by heart; it should be like the alphabet to every child. See how it begins.
Isa_53:1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
This is the continual cry of the men of God. The sent ones of God who come to bear testimony of the Lamb of God have no easy time of it. With broken heart they have to go to their Master, and say, “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
Isa_53:2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Carnal minds never did see beauty in Christ, and never will. Christ as the great sacrifice is always rejected.
Isa_53:3-5. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Blessed be his name. Some of us can say that with great delight: “With his stripes we are healed.”
Isa_53:6-7. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
“He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.” Our blessed Master — there are his seven cries upon the cross, but not one word of murmuring, no complaint against his enemies — “He opened not his mouth: he is brought as the lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Isa_53:8-9. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa_53:10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” If ever there was a man whom God should have protected from every sorrow, and guarded from every stroke of injustice, it was Jesus; and unless it was for sins not his own he suffered, unless it was as a substitute for man, it was the most unjust of all heard of injustices that Christ should die at all.
Isa_53:11-12. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong: because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
“He shall see of the travail of his soul.” Oh! what a joy is this to us! He did not travail in vain. His pangs were as of a travailing woman; but the birth, the glorious birth that comes of it in the salvation of multitudes — this is his recompense.
This exposition consisted of readings from Exo_29:38-46; Isaiah 53.
This is a chapter which you have read hundreds of times, perhaps, I am sure it is one that needs no comment from me. I shall read it through with scarcely a sentence of comment.
Isa_53:1-9. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
A strange reason for making his grave with tire wicked, and yet remember if it had not been that he had done no violence, he would not have been fit to be a substitute for sinners, and so he was numbered with transgressions-sots to redeem men.
Isa_53:10-12. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
How clearly you have before you here our blessed Redeemer, and how strong are the expressions used by Isaiah to set forth his substitution. If he did intend to teach us the doctrine that Christ suffered in the place and stead of his people, he could not have used more expressive words; and if he did not intend to teach us that truth, it is marvelous that he should have adopted a phraseology so likely to mislead. Yes, we believe and hold it fast, that Christ did take the sins of his people verily and truly upon himself, and did in proper person make a complete expiation for the guilt of all his chosen, and in this we find our hearts’ best confidence: —
“
Can on this doctrine die.”